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Markets ended lower for the third straight day weighed down by metal shares with Hindalco leading the decline following a scrutiny over the coal block allocations. Further, investors also turned cautious ahead of key economic data due for release tomorrow.
The 30-share Sensex ended down 51 points at 28,659 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 12 points at 8,700.
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down 0.4% and 0.3% each performed worse than the front-liners.
Market breadth on the BSE ended negative with 1,631 declines against 1,199 advances.
On the macro-economic front, India’s current-account deficit held near the widest since the quarter through June 2013 as falling oil prices were insufficient to offset a drop in exports. The October-December shortfall in the broadest measure of trade was $8.2 billion compared with $10.2 billion the previous quarter, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement on Tuesday.
India’s trade deficit widened to $39.2 billion during the quarter from $38.6 billion in the September quarter as exports fell 7.3% while imports declined 4.5%. Gold shipments are seen surging after the government last month refrained from raising a record tariff.
Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha on Tuesday cleared the contentious land acquisition Bill, along with nine amendments proposed by the government.
Further, foreign institutional investors turned net sellers in equities worth Rs 748 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Buzzing Stocks
7 out of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE ended lower. BSE Metal index, down around 1.6% was the top loser followed by BSE Oil and Gas and BSE Healthcare indices, down 0.8% each.
Metal shares were under pressure in today’s session with Hindalco leading the decline. Hindalco is one of the accused in the coal scam along with its managing director Debu Bhattacharya and Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and have been summoned to the court on April 8th. Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite have declined around 1.5% and 2% each.
Select auto stocks ended lower. Tata Motors was down 1.8% and Maruti Suzuki, up 0.2% Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp declined around 1.5% and 0.3% each. Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said it would be recalling 33,098 vehicles, including its popular models Alto 800 and Alto K10. According to the company’s statement to the stock exchanges, the recall is to inspect and replace the ‘right hand door latch assembly’
Among oil and gas shares, ONGC shed around 1.5% while GAIL gained 1.7% while RIL ended down 0.6%. Global crude oil prices rebounded on Wednesday after data showed US crude stocks fell for the first time in two months.
Pharma shares ended mixed. Cipla declined around 1.6% and Sun Pharma shed 1.3% while Dr Reddys Lab ended higher by 1.3%.
On the gaining side, Bharti Airtel was the top gainer, extending its rally from previous session closed higher by around 6%, FMCG major HUL ended up around 1.4% while HDFC gained 0.8%.
IT shares ended lower. Wipro has gained over 1%, Infosys was down 1.2% while TCS declined 1.3% and Wipro ended flat.
Among capital goods stocks, L&T declined around 0.8% and BHEL ended lower by 1.2%. L&T Metallurgical and material handling business has secured orders worth Rs 1,242 crore across various business segments during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014-15, according to company’s release to BSE.
